Insulated joint.



No. 735,631. PATENTED AUG. 4, 1903. H

G. A. WEBER.

INSULATED JOINT.

APPLIOATTON FILED MAR. 4. 1903.

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II' W/////////////////// UNITED STATES Iatented August 4, v

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. WEBER, OF NEYV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE WEBER RAIL- WAY JOINT MANUFAOTURING COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A COR- PORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

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SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 735,631, dated August 4, 190d. Application filed March 4, 1903. Serial No. 146,229. (No model).

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. WEBER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county,

and State of New York, have'invented certain new and useful Improvements in Insulated Joints,ot' which the following is a specification, accompanied by drawings.

This invention relates to rail-joints, but

it) more particularly to insulated joints for railroad-rail sections; and the objects of the invention are to improve upon the construction of such joints and increase their strength and efiiciency, with simplicity of parts which are not liable to get out of order.

Another object of the invention is to enable the joint to be made without insulation between the webs of the rails and those portions of-the securing-bolts which pass through the 2o webs of the rails, while a further object of the invention is to prevent short-circuiting of the rails by the wheels of a car.

Further objects of the invention will hereinafter appear; and to these ends theinvention consists of an improved insulated joint for carrying .out the above objects, embodying the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts, substantially as hereinafter fully described and 0 claimed in this specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, in Which Figure l is a transverse sectional view of the joint embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a side ele- 5 vation.

Referring to the drawings, A and B represent the ends of railroad-rail sections which are to be insulated one from the other. As shown in this instance, the rail ends are sup- 0 ported upon a suitable rail-chair O, which comprises the base or bridge plate D and the upright or bolt plate E, with the longitudinally-extending strengthening rib or fillet F at the juncture of the base and upright. Any

suitable rail-chair may be utilized in this improved joint, and the invention is not limited to any particular kind of chair.

It has been found that when the faces of the rail ends are separated by thin posts of insulating material, such as fiber, a short ;a circuit between: the ends of the'rails may be occasioned by wheels of large diameter. The

; fiber not being sufficiently rigid will permit theperiphery of thewheels to sink slightly below the surface of the rails, and thus produce a bridge between the rail ends to complete a circuit across the insulated gap. According to thisinvention a short section G of railroad-rail is included in the insulated joint and arranged between the ends of the railsections A and B. This short section of rail G is suitably insulated from the rail-sections A and B, and thus forms what may be termed a dead portion of the rail. According to this construction it will be seen that although a wheel may bridge across between either rail-section A or B and the section G a short circuit will not be occasioned. The ends A and B of the railvsections, together with the section G, are suitably insulated from the base D of the rail-chair by the sheet H of insulating material, which is suitably maintained in position upon the chair. In this instance insulatingblocks I and J, which may be of Wood, are arranged along the webs of the rail-sections A and B and along the web of the intermediate dead section G. The

block I, as shown, is between the webs of the rails and the upright E of the angle-chair.

The block J is shown at the other side of the So joint, and outside of said block extends the metallic strengthening-bar K. The barK in thisinstance is made continuous and extends across the joint.

The sheet H of insulation is extended upwardly between the insulating block I, of packing or filling material, and the upright E of the angle-chair, so that when the parts of the joint are secured together by means of the bolts L the insulation H is securely clamped between the block I andthe upright E. w 5

Suitable bolts L extend through the portions of the joint and are provided with the heads 0 and nuts P. Suitable insulatingsleeves Q insulate the shank of the bolt from the upright E and the strengthening-bar K, while suitable insulating washers R, as

shown, insulate the head 0 and nut P from the metallic portions of the joint. Metallic washers S may be arranged between the insulating-washers R and the head 0 and nut P, respectively.

According to this construction insulation is not needed between the shank of the bolt and the webs of the rails A and B and the web of the section G. Suitable insulatingposts T, of any desired insulating material, as shown, may be inserted between the faces of the rail ends A and B and the faces of the short section G.

It will be seen that according to this construction all the bolt ends and heads are insulated, so that current cannot pass from rail to rail through either the chair or metal bar K without passing insulation at two points, because of there being insulation between both the rail ends and the bar and chair. This double insulation, though preferred, is not, therefore, essential. According to this invention it will be seen that a greater dead space is obtained between the ends of the rails, or, in other words, a longer portion of insulation is obtained. The insulated section G, comprising a portion of a railroadrail, is rigid and strong and firmly supports the passing wheels of an engine or car.

I do not herein claim, broadly, an insulated rail-joint of the character described embodying the strengthening strap or band extending across the joint opposite the upright of the chair, as insulated joints embodying this feature in various forms are claimed in my copending applications, Serial Nos. 63,124 and 63,125, filed June 4, 1901; No. 87,053, filed December 24, 1901; No. 124,193, filed September 20, 1902, and N0.133,770, filed December 3, 1902.

Obviously some features of this invention may be used without others, and the invention may be embodied in widely-varying forms.

Therefore, without limiting myself to the construction shown and described nor enumerating equivalents, I claim, and desire to obtain by Letters Patent, the following:

1. A rail-joint, comprising a suitable railsupport or bridge-plate, rail ends supported thereon, the base of at least one rail being insulated therefrom,and there being a plurality of insulating-breaks between the ends of the rails, insulating-blocks extending along the webs of the rails, and insulated bolts for securing the parts of the joint together, for substantially the purposes set forth.

2. An insulated joint, comprising an anglechair, rail ends supported thereon and insulated therefrom, an insulated section of rail between the ends of said rail-sections, and

tending across the joint, and insulated bolts for securing the parts of the joint together, for substantially the purposes set forth.

4. An insulated rail-joint, comprising an angle-chair having a base and an upright, rail ends supported thereon, the base of at least one rail being insulated therefrom, an insulated section of rail between the ends of said rail-sections, insulating-blocks extending across the joint along the Webs of the rails, and insulated bolts for securing the parts of the joint together, for substantially the purposes set forth.

5. A rail-joint, comprising a suitable railsupport or bridge-plate, rail ends supported thereon, the base of at least one rail being insulated therefrom and there beinga plurality of insulating-breaks between the ends of the rails, means for maintaining the rail ends in alinement, and insulated bolts for securing the parts of the joints together, for substantially the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE A. WEBER.

Witnesses:

A. L. OBRIEN, H. L. OBER'IEUFFER. 

